So, I’m Staying a Little Longer

As my impending flight back to the US approached, I started to panic.  I don’t feel like I’m done with Kenya yet.  Yes, I am going to try to return, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, this will be no easy task.  I want more dinners at Talisman, more movie nights with Sonia, more warthogs on the road, more adventures with Laz and friends, just MORE.  I was pleasantly surprised 100 percent elated that after complaining to my parents, they decided to extend my ticket as a graduation present (I better graduate now!)

I have a few extra weeks here, which is amazing.  I am planning a trip to the Maasai Mara and Mombasa with my extra time, plus I’m happy that I will be able to prepare for my Master’s paper presentation here and not during a hectic two weeks at home while I try to catch up with friends and family.  My new plan is to fly directly to Boston, finish my degree, then fly back to MN just in time for Katie’s wedding.  After that, I’m all yours, people, all yours.

Looking Forward: The job hunt is REAL

Now that I am officially in the home stretch of my stay in Kenya, I am thinking about the future.  MY future.  It takes about 8 months for graduates in my field to find a job, and I cannot imagine going the next eight months being unemployed.  I get too much fulfillment from having a job I love to just sit around and bake cookies all day (though I do love baking cookies and will love the extra time to spend with family and friends back home).

The search will be a struggle, though.  I really want to return to Kenya, but there are few job prospects here for my particular interests, and getting work in development as an American is tricky because East African organizations are really moving towards employing local people.  This is great and they way it should be, but… I really chose a great time to want to do development in Kenya, huh? 

I really want to do work on language advocacy here (there are 50+ languages and dialects in the region, and few children are allowed to use their mother tongue in school and later on in work), but most of the work in Kenya is focused on health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, FGM, etc.  I sometimes feel like my field is so niche that I have to start my own organization.  But then who will pay me?  Yes, my work is centered on social justice, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to make enough money to go out to nice restaurants and buy every one of MAC’s new lipsticks. 

I am also interested in doing research, so I have been seeking out research grants to possibly go to the coast and research land rights in the face of the LAPSSET project (a large corridor being built right down the coast through a lot of people’s land).  I am also interested in land rights, so I would love to find an org interested in supporting that kind of research.   I officially end my internship on the last day of March, so after that it is ON.  I’m researching and contacting people now, but my new full time job will be… finding a job.  Wish me luck.

Neighborhood Tour

Here is a short view of the neighborhood I live in.  Not too pretty, but it gets the job done!

Road Trip to Lake Naivasha

Last weekend, Sonia, Kazungu, Laz and I made a road trip to Lake Naivasha and passed through the Great Rift Valley.  It was definitely one of my favorite days so far in Kenya and it was great to spend it with such good friends.

First stop:  The Great Rift Valley overlook.  I couldn't get Circle of Life out of my head.

Me, K & Laz.  No problems.

The view at the Rift Valley was amazing.  From there we took a winding road down into the valley and headed to Naivasha.  Much singing and rapping ensued.

At the lake we took a boat ride around and visited some hippos.  Hippos are shy.  Confirmed:  hippos are my favorite animals.

The boat then took us to Crescent Island, where Out of Africa was filmed.  I guess they left some giraffes and such behind after filming and they made a home there.  This is a strange place where you can walk around and chill with wild animals and have a picnic while wildebeest watch you.  It is also very, very cool.

This giraffe just strolled past me like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Laz then lost a foot race to Our Friend the Giraffe.

I love Kenya and don't want to leave in a month.  The End.

Oloo School

I present to you a short view of my neighborhood and ride to work here in Rongai.  Enjoy!

5 Things I Will Miss in Kenya

I’ll just go ahead and say it now—I’m not going to say anything about people I will miss.  Obviously I will miss my friends and coworkers here, but I’m sticking with the food, places, and things that cannot be replaced in Minnesota, at least not perfectly.

1.     Chapatti: 

Chapatti are sort of like flour tortillas, but thick, really soft, and fried.  They are sort of a means of getting food in your mouth here, and they are delicious.  Use them to soak up the rest of soup, make an African Taco (copyright 2015 Erin) by filling it with beans, or dip it in sauce.  It is just a really ideal food and I love it.

2.     Fresh mangoes:

At about 20 cents a pop, you cannot beat the fresh, sweet, huge mangoes that I can get at the shop down the street from my house.  There are mango juice stains on roughly 28% of my shirts at this point.

3.     Kitengela Glass factory:

See blog post.  This place is really cool and really close to my house.  I love the shop, the bridge over the gorge, and the crazy cabins.

4.     Random animals on the street:

Goats and sheep chill by the dozen on the field across the street.  Donkeys pull carts down the road.  Sonia saw a camel by her house.  Cats find us and move into the apartment building (I’m aunt to a cat named MJ who constantly escapes her owner’s room and comes crying at my door for cookies).  Warthogs eat trash in the gutter.  Baboons play by the river with their babies.  Zebras hang out behind the school I worked at.  Cows cause frequent traffic jams.  A one-armed monkey sneaks into ANU dorms and steals bananas.  Chickens meander. It’s a zoo and I love it.

5.     Tailors

Basically, it costs about 12 dollars to have anything I want made perfectly to my specifications.  That is all I have to say.